Archive for May, 2008

In order to help keep track of Vocera badges, it's a good idea to create a labeling scheme. For instance, have your Labor & Delivery unit badges labeled as L&D-1, L&D-2, etc. This helps units keep track of their inventory. It's also helpful if users try to use the same badge every day. It helps keep them from getting lost if someone from each shift is always looking for "their" badge and they know who uses it on the prior shift.
Dymo and P-touch labels do the job quite well. Consider making the labels with enough tape ... More »

I never go to a Vocera client site without the following in my tool bag:
Vocera repair kit
Goo Gone (or similar adhesive remover/cleaner)
Napkins/tissues for applying the Goo Gone
Paper clip or tweezers for removing pieces of broken battery clip from the grooves
Super glue in case of broken plastic
A couple of toothpicks - for applying glue
Fine-point permanent marker (for writing the badge label info next to the bar code under the battery)
Pencil eraser (for removing the aforementioned handwritten label if necessary)

Battery clips break. A temporary user fix is to tape the battery in place. Cellophane tape, medical tape, whatever is handy. Problem is, once the battery clip is fixed, the residue from the tape remains. Bring on the Goo Gone cleaner and wipe that adhesive mess right off. It's great stuff - gets the sticky stuff off and leaves the badge clean. I carry a small bottle of it in my badge repair kit.

Like a lot of things in life, at hospitals, who ends up with what technology is not always fair. More often than not there are those who don’t get what they need, even when others don’t use what they have.
Today’s post is the first in a series about two customers who chose to take Vocera away from the “haves,” and give it instead to the “have nots” who really needed it.
Here’s the back story: Like many hospitals, one of our long-standing customers deployed Vocera in three separate phases, each time trying to balance the amount of money they had to ... More »